Rocky Neck Beach

Today Mattingly and I trucked it to the beach for only the 2nd time this summer. We went with my beach partner Laura and her bf Jesse. Mattingly has a great time with Jesse. They dig holes and find treasures together and Jesse taught Mattingly how to twist open bottle caps. Laura and I chatted away and soaked in the sun. The water was nice and Mattingly wasn't too scared this time since he's been to the beach a few times with Grandma Fitch. Someone there even made a comment on how good Mattingly was even with no toys. (I forgot his sand toys) It is always nice when he's well behaved in public. =)

Lyman's

Last Sunday we met my bff and her daughter at Lyman's Orchard for lunch. Mattingly enjoyed watching the ducks and of course making sure Payton had her pacifier at all times. He'd pinch her cheeks and smile at her. I wasn't quick enough to get any pics of the 2 of them but I got one of him and Mark looking at the ducks and 2 of Payton alone. I want to bite her cheeks off!!

Baseball

Mattingly likes to get his bat and ball out at night when the Yankees are playing. Mark will toss him the ball and he actually hits it sometimes. It's amazing. He loves it. Sometimes he passes the bat off to dad and throws the ball to him. And other times he just likes fetching the ball. Either way he knows when the Yankees are on and he cheers and says "A-Rom".

July 4th

This year we went to my parent's house for lunch. Mattingly went in the kiddie pool with grandpa again and Mark and I and mom sweated outside. It was so hot that day! I attempted to make angel food cake with cool whip and blueberries and strawberries. Actually it looked pretty good and tasted okay. There's always next year. Mattingly also enjoyed sitting on their new patio table spinning the spinner for food. After lunch grandpa attempted to put Mattingly down for a nap and they peeked out the window at us down below (which is what I have a picture of). After their house we headed home for a minute to let Melky out and feed him and then were off to the beach to visit my bff Em and her husband and babe and his fam. Mattingly had a nice time playing ball and squeezing Payton's cheeks. He adores babies. Finally it was dark enough to watch the fireworks. Mark's brother knows a guy that puts on a show every year so we went down to his house. Mattingly didn't really care for them. He clenched on to me and only me and would say "Mommy, they care (scare) me." Even if you ask him today about the fireworks he says they scare him. Hopefully next year he'll like them a little bit more.

Aunt Kristin's Wedding

On June 26th Mark's sister got married and Mattingly was one of the ring bearers. He did a really good job. I was so surprised. I ran down with his arms waving in the air and sat down with daddy. He smiled at me a few times while I stood up front as a bridesmaid and while daddy did a ready he sat there quietly. When Mark was done Mattingly smiled and clapped for him.

Oh and at the rehearsal he was also great. Tracy taught him how to put olives on his fingers so he asked over and over for olives. He wouldn't eat them he just wanted to play with them. He also liked chasing around one of the other boys during dinner. He was soooo sweaty!! He passed out in the car right away. I thought he'd wake up once we brought him inside but he asked for a drink and went right back to sleep in the 2min I was changing!

Essex Steam Train

A few weeks ago my mom, Mattingly and I met my Aunt and her 3 grandkids at the Essex Steam Train station to take a ride. I am not sure who was more excited grandma or Mattingly. He really enjoyed sitting and looking out the window. My cousins kids had fun playing with Mattingly. Making his arms moves and taking his cars from him then giving them back and making sure he didn't stick his arms out the window. Trent is almost 5yr, McKenzie is 3yr and Vanessa is 10yr I think. They had more fun playing with each other.

Cooling off

My friend bought Mattingly this little crab pool with a shade for him to play in for his birthday. You can hook it up to the hose and it will have a little sprinkler but I just put it on the deck and fill it with a little water and some bath toys for him to play in. It's perfect. He splashed a little and throws the toys in for a little bit and then will eventually dive in. He doesn't stay in though. He constantly gets in and out. He likes cooling off with mom's coffee too. He says it's good and calls it "Mattingly's coff". He's a trip. In fact my friend Laura visited today with her boyfriend Jesse and he told me that Jesse wanted a popsicle and coffee. Crazy kid.

Father's Day

Mattingly took these next 2 pictures. Not bad.

Mark was obviously working on Father's Day so Mattingly and I went to visit my parents. We ate lunch and Mattingly watched the birds and played in the pool with Grandpa. They stayed in amidst the pouring rain. Grandpa used the picnic table umbrella to shield them. As though Mattingly wasn't splashing anyway. Then we enjoyed some ice cream. Mattingly had to have his own!